


kindred spirit

by onlyacoffee



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 10:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5371562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyacoffee/pseuds/onlyacoffee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day Enjolras arrived in his French class was the first day of sunshine in an otherwise cold and grey November; he was just a little older than Feuilly - would turn 14 in January, when Feuilly’s September birthday was still a long summer away - but unlike the other teenagers in Feuilly’s year, he was smart, and kind, and funny, and he and didn’t look down at Feuilly’s out-of-style sneakers under his jeans, his short, dirty fingernails and his lousy handwriting.</p><p>It was the best day of Feuilly's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	kindred spirit

Meeting Enjolras had been one of the best things that had ever happened in all of Feuilly’s 13 years of life (so far - and he wasn’t saying this to be dramatic, of course. It was just  _true_ ).

The day Enjolras arrived in his French class was the first day of sunshine in an otherwise cold and grey November; he was just a little older than Feuilly - would turn 14 in January, when Feuilly’s September birthday was still a long summer away - but unlike the other teenagers in Feuilly’s year, he was smart, and kind, and funny, and he and didn’t look down at Feuilly’s out-of-style sneakers under his jeans, his short, dirty fingernails and his lousy handwriting.

He had no friends yet, Enjolras had explained, his bright, intense eyes locking onto Feuilly’s as he sat down at the empty desk next to him. He’d been to a private school in the area before, but now - now he was here. He didn’t know anyone, but he hoped Feuilly would show him around.

Feuilly hadn’t known what to answer - other kids tended to avoid his eyes, not meet them, and he didn’t know what to say, so he just smiled, the expression feeling forced and unnatural. He stuttered as he introduced himself and immediately cursed his awkwardness.

To Feuilly’s surprise, Enjolras had smiled back and held his hand for Feuilly to shake. He didn’t laugh. Somehow, Feuilly had a feeling Enjolras would never laugh at him; so he shook Enjolras’ hand and decided he’d like to be his friend.

Neither of them went to their next class - P.E., Feuilly was glad to have a legitimate excuse to avoid it this one time - as Feuilly showed Enjolras around. All the teachers and staff were too busy to pay attention to them, but the school librarian might notice, so he promised Enjolras he’d show him some other time. Enjolras nodded, asking questions sometimes, commenting on the place. It was pretty terrible, probably, compared to Enjolras’ old private school, Feuilly commented, but Enjolras shook his head.

“I didn’t like it, my old private school. It was a girl’s only school anyway, with the uniform and all. I’m just happy to not have to go there anymore.”

Feuilly’s breath caught in his throat. He’d always gone to public schools, and his foster parents didn’t care how he dressed himself - not these ones, anyway. 

For the second time that day he wasn’t sure what to say to his new friend. But Enjolras’ eyes were staring right into his again, and again, he knew Enjolras knew. He knew Enjolras understood him in ways no one had ever bothered to try to understand him.

He hadn’t considered himself lucky very often before, but at that moment, listening to Enjolras speak, looking at his face and his lips and his eyes, he did for two very different reasons.

Neither of them felt like going back to class after this moment; but there weren’t any empty classrooms in the school, so they left and spent the rest of the afternoon in the wooden area behind the mall, a mile from the school, where no one would look for them. At 4, Feuilly went back to his house, and Enjolras waved as he left in the other direction, towards the wealthier area of town with his new two-storey houses.

—

School was easier, after meeting Enjolras. Feuilly didn’t feel so alone or isolated anymore; he still had no other friends, and he avoided P.E. until the teacher threatened to make him fail, but Enjolras was always up to eating lunch with Feuilly on a picnic table behind the school, sharing his PB&J with him when Feuilly didn’t have anything.  Somehow, Enjolras made everything easier; he encouraged Feuilly to write him letters, and Feuilly’s handwriting improved. Feuilly’s reading, too, improved, reading Enjolras’ letters again and again, reading their books for school together.

In March, Feuilly learned that Enjolras was at Feuilly’s school because his rich parents had been killed in a car accident that summer.

“That’s why I missed the first two months of class,” he explained one day in the woods behind the mall. “I was kind of a mess, but I’m okay now.”

“I was a mess too when my parents died,” Feuilly confessed, his face heating up, because he’d never said so to anyone - not even his case worker, though he guessed that she knew. “I was much younger, though.”

Enjolras squeezed his hand, and they hugged. It felt nice, to be hugged. Feuilly thought it had probably been too long since he’d been hugged for real.

—

The summer after middle school ended, everything changed.

First, Feuilly met Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac wasn’t like Enjolras; he was younger than Feuilly, by three weeks, and it felt like it shouldn’t matter, but it did, because it wasn’t like Enjolras. Courfeyrac’s skin was freckled and his hair was too long and a little greasy sometimes. Enjolras’ hair never did that. Courfeyrac was a boy, too, but a boy like all the other boys - Feuilly saw him take off his pants and his boxers by the creek in the woods behind the mall. That was a little disappointing, but it was okay, it didn’t really matter. Courfeyrac’s laugh was very loud, and he made Feuilly laugh, too, and he looked at Feuilly a little like Enjolras did, so Feuilly knew he didn’t judge him all the other kids had. He’d hugged Feuilly the first day they met, and held his hand, and let him borrow his favourite album. They’d listened to it together all afternoon, then shared ice cream. It was the second best day of Feuilly’s life - the first being when he’d met Enjolras.

Second, Enjolras left. Or rather, he disappeared. 

Feuilly had been so excited to introduce his new friend to his best - only, so far - friend, but he realised that he didn’t know where Enjolras lived. In fact, he’d never been to his house, and Enjolras had never been to his - his foster parents didn’t want any of his friends over anyway. He’d met up with Feuilly in the woods behind the mall every day - almost - since the summer started, but that day, he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there the next either, or the following week. 

Feuilly didn’t see him all summer. He’d tried asking around, but Courfeyrac, who’d gone to the game private school Enjolras said he went, said he didn’t know who he was talking about.

Feuilly left messages, hand written notes, pinned on a tree, but they all stayed there until the rain or the wind destroyed them.

Eventually, Feuilly stopped leaving messages. Maybe Enjolras had really moved away. Months passed, and Feuilly started forgetting how to spelling Enjolras’ name - it felt bad, because a friend is a friend forever, right, and he shouldn’t forget him this quickly.

But he did forget. his old friend’s eyes slowly slipped away from his memory, replaced by Courfeyrac’s, then Marius’, then Combeferre’s and Cosette’s and Bossuet’s and Bahorel’s. None of them understood him perfectly - nor did he understand them all the time, either. They fought, sometimes. They disagreed. He loved them, but they weren’t perfect. 

It was okay, though. It really was.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a prompt on tunblr, which was Enjolras as Feuilly's inaginary friend - but we can also totally pretend he shows up again later!


End file.
